Last day in Tokyo.

Have I mentioned how much I love Japan?

Yesterday was our last day in Tokyo.  It involved eating.  It involved shopping.  It involved karaoke.  It involved drinking.  Description of a perfect day for me?  Well, just maybe.

Started off in Shinjuku with Chazsuke in the Lumine food section.  The place was full of women (the food is female friendly ie low-calorie, compared with the katsu curry place nearby which was full of men).  Chazuke was great - clean and tasty flavours.  We also got a couple of onigiri - love, love, love.

After getting the touristy stuff out of the way (seeing the view from the Tokyo Metro Government offices), it was Shibuya for some shopping.  There were two guys with loudspeakers outside the Hachiko exit shouting in Japanese, it was bizarre. One of the guys was holding onto a respectable-looking middle-aged woman, she was on the ground shouting "sexual harassment" over and over.  It was kind of sad because no one was doing anything about it, I guess they thought she was crazy.

Shibuya crossing - organised mayhem

 

Crazy party game at Tokyu Hands.  The game consisted solely of paper plates and aerosol cream.

Another karaoke session later, we headed back to Shinjuku to pit stop in the hotel.  Left for dinner late, because we were (wait for it...) primping!  Bizarre odd strange.  We had YouTubed how to curl hair using a hair straightener earlier in the week, and now we're hooked!  It was really a "wow!" life moment, the how to videos were amazing. Mind blown.

We had dinner at a place in yakitori alley.  Got talking with a regular, who spoke really good English, and it was fun.  It is so much easier when someone else can translate your food order for you!  The skewers that came wrapped in bacon were best (no surprises there).  On the basis of online reviews, we decided to go to Albatross bar (just opposite the yakitori place).  Sat next to a couple of local Japanese girls who we got talking to, and the barman, who was friendly.  Tried some weird cocktails (mainly harmless vodka-based) but with cherry blossom, lychee, almond, and peach liquers.  Cheap cheap, 7 cocktails for under $75AUD.



The bar man at Albatross. 

So after drinks, what's our late-night snack of choice? Not Kebabs (though kebab shops are everywhere in Tokyo), but tempura soba, located just at the end of yakitori alley.  That and being able to walk home, everything last night was so convenient and close, very us-friendly.  



So that's our Tokyo send-off.  Sad face that we are leaving Tokyo, but I am looking forward to getting cultured-up in Kyoto.